What to buy a Magic: The Gathering player
Last updated: September 21, 2026
Buying a gift for someone who plays Magic is harder than it looks, because the obvious present — a booster pack — is the one thing they can buy themselves any day of the week, and the odds of it containing something they want are slim. The good news is that a thoughtful Magic gift is usually cheaper than a bad one.
Here is how we would approach it, by budget, without needing to know their deck list.
Under $20: a card they will actually use
The single best cheap gift is a staple they have been putting off buying. Almost every Commander player is missing a few. Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Command Tower and Swords to Plowshares go in nearly every deck in the format, and a nice copy of one is a present they will see every game night.
If you want it to feel less like a component and more like a gift, buy a foil version of a card that is cheap in non-foil. The card does the same job; it just looks like a treat. Browse everything in this range in our singles under $20.
Under $50: the upgrade they would not buy themselves
This is the sweet spot. Players are good at buying the cards their deck needs and bad at buying the cards their deck merely wants. A premium version of a card they already run — a special foil treatment, an extended-art printing, a borderless one — is a genuinely thoughtful gift, because it is an upgrade to something they have already chosen.
If you know their commander, this is where it gets easy: buy a striking printing of that specific card. It is the one piece of cardboard they will put on the table every single game.
Storage and sleeves: unglamorous, always appreciated
Every player owns cards they are not protecting properly. Sleeves wear out, deck boxes crack, and loose cards end up in shoeboxes. It is not a flashy present, but it is the one most players quietly need — our guide to storing MTG cards covers what actually matters.
If they are new to the game
Buy a preconstructed Commander deck rather than packs. It is a complete, legal, playable deck out of the box, it teaches the format's most popular way to play, and it gives them something to upgrade later — which is its own ongoing hobby. Our guides on what Commander is and upgrading a precon on a budget are a decent thing to send along with it.
What to avoid
Skip loose booster packs unless you know they enjoy opening them for their own sake — as a way of getting someone a card they want, the maths is bad. Skip anything graded or slabbed unless they are specifically a collector; most players want cards they can put in a deck. And be careful with very expensive singles bought blind: a $200 card for a deck they do not play is a worse gift than a $15 card for one they do.
If you genuinely have no idea
Ask them for their commander. It is one question, it does not spoil much, and it narrows a gift from the whole game down to a specific colour identity. From there, our Commander singles and the staples guide will point you at something they can use.
We ship across Canada from London, Ontario, and every card is graded by hand before it is listed. Browse under $20, under $50, or the premium treatments.